Wednesday, January 09, 2008

More NFB shorts

Another old favourite is The Cat Came Back, based on an old Canadian folk song. I also like "The Log-Driver's Waltz" - I don't think that's quite as old a song, but I remember hearing it many years ago on the radio.

One short that I can't find online is "Hot Stuff", a terribly funny story about the history of man's use (and abuse) of fire. It starts off in caveman times, as the gods send the gift of fire to a freezing caveman. He carries the new invention to the cave to show his wife and starts to get a bit frisky (I think he calls her "Eve"), while she complains non-stop that she doesn't like it, it's too hot, and STOP IT! I'VE GOT TO GO WASH THE ROCKS! Then we see the great panorama of history as a torch-carrying representative of humanity passes through all the past ages, and fire changes, becoming tamed and controlled, used in engines, generators, electrical plants and finally...we come to the present day. And the representative of humanity is a grouchy couch potato watching TV, yelling at his wife not to call him Poopsie and he's MISSING HIS PROGRAM! Meanwhile the electrical circuits in the house are becoming more and more overloaded, and finally, disaster ensues.

As the world is engulfed in flame, the narrator intones "The gods were angry...again." And in a voiceover, one of the disgruntled gods reflects on this bad experiment: "Next time, we give the fire to the WOMAN!"

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About Me

I'm a married lady with 3 kids, all at different spots on the autism spectrum. In my spare time I translate and create English subtitles for obscure French movies. I also bake, garden and build computers.